


Chapped Lips

by AllyC



Category: Free!
Genre: First Kisses, Fluff, HARURINRALIA, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:45:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2645573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllyC/pseuds/AllyC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What had never been in his daydreams were chapped lips, clicking teeth, and the awkwardness of wide open, locked gazes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapped Lips

He was a romantic, Rin would admit that much. As such he’d spent a fair amount of time daydreaming about things like holding hands, long walks on the shore, and eyes clear as water that shimmered just so. What had never been in his daydreams were chapped lips, clicking teeth, and the awkwardness of wide open, locked gazes. That was the truth of his first kiss though, despite the fantasies and farfetched plans he had laid out that he was sure would never come to fruition.

Instead he stood in front of their hotel room door, ready to leave for check out before the long plane ride home, dazed and stuttering as Haruka turned his head to stare at a wall. Another part of all these dreams and fantasies was that he always made the first move. That only seemed logical though, as Rin had always been very sure of the fact that his feelings would never be returned. Everything was upside down and his mind was working double-time to try and process this inconceivable situation.

There was a huff that broke the whirring of his mind and Rin found his attention focused back outward to the annoyed expression on Haruka’s face. 

“Let’s go,” were the cool words offered to him as he was pushed out of the way of the door. Immediately his body moved back to where it had been to block the escape path. “Move, Rin.” Petulance with a hint of fear. It was a tone of voice Rin was very familiar with, being that he’d spent months speaking in nothing but it. 

Eyes meeting again Rin took in the emotions cascading through those blue eyes. A lot of people misunderstood Haruka, thought he was devoid of personality or emotion, but they didn’t look close enough. There was so much expression in his eyes. This is where the romantic part of him wanted to quote that they were, ‘the window to the soul.’ 

“Not until you tell me why you did that.” Those eyes narrowed at him and Rin braced himself as Haruka tried to move past him again. His arms reached out to grab a hold of the other and he felt the tension vibrating through his friend’s body. 

“Haru…”

The tension built until it felt more like stone under his fingers than fabric and flesh. It didn’t last and quickly he felt the hardness give way to a limp figure, like a physical manifestation of giving up. “You helped me find my dream here, Rin. I suppose I just thought there was more overlapping between our dreams than there is.” Haruka kept his gaze carefully trained to the side in that infuriatingly familiar expression that caused both fondness and exasperation to swell in Rin’s heart.

But beneath those swelling emotions there was something hot and burning. It was like a sudden fire had burst to life in his chest and it surged forth from there to the tips of his fingers and toes. A gruff laugh, unbelieving in the best of ways, bubbled forth from his lips as it all came together and sank deep into his mind. The realization was like a pilot light to his heart - something he knew he could turn to when that fire went out. His laugh had turned Haruka’s fierce eyes back to him and now anger was starting to seep forth through them. 

Instead of using words to try and quell that upset, Rin lurched forward to press his lips against the other’s. Lips still chapped, but this time there was no painful clash of teeth and Rin’s eyes had firmly closed once he knew his course was true. Instead there was only the sharp intake of Haruka’s breath beneath his lips and the feeling of a hand reaching up to clutch at the back of his neck. 

Okay, so maybe his second kiss wasn’t quite like all those daydreams either, but it was closer. Physically, at least. Mentally it far surpassed anything his childish mind had dreamed up over the years. It wasn’t the fireworks and leg pops from the romantic comedies he had a not-so-secret weakness for, but it was real and everything in him buzzed from that point of contact. Who needed a leg pop when you finally had your long-standing childhood crush’s lips brushing against your own. Chapped lips might need to get added to the fantasies, Rin mused, because there was something thrilling in feeling that slight catch of skin on skin as they moved awkwardly against one another.

Pulling away he felt the heat that had surged to his cheeks and he was sure his face was trying to compete with his hair for color. Taking a leaf from Haruka’s book he flicked his gaze away, only briefly catching the sparkling in those ocean eyes.

“They overlap perfectly,” he muttered out. “But don’t think this is going to make me go easy on you. I’m still going to train my ass off, so you better not slack.” Looking back he met Haruka’s gaze and watched his expression settle back into the familiar deadpan. 

There was a tug to his stub of a ponytail as Haruka pulled his arm back. “You’ll have to if you want to keep up with me, Rinrin.”

Laughter bubbled up again as Rin stepped back and hoisted his rucksack onto his back. They were going to be cutting it close with customs at this rate, but Rin was having trouble bringing himself to care. Right now he sort of felt like he could swim the seven thousand something kilometers home with ease. “You’re on, Nanase.” 

Overlapping dreams. They may have to be parted for awhile to help achieve those dreams, but it would be worth it in the end. Once they were ready they would meet again, head to head, to take on each other and then the world. Nothing as petty as distance would ruin them - not when fate always pulled them back to each other.


End file.
